All bookstores stand at the ready with reading suggestions. Soho independent bookseller McNally Jackson goes a step further: it fully imagines the perfect setting for getting work done.

Goods for the Study, McNally Jackson's satellite store in Nolita is a few blocks from its main location (which has a nice-looking cafe and a bookbinding machine for self publishers). "As booksellers, we knew we wanted a store that would support a life of learning," explains partner and main buyer Sandeep Salter, who designed and created the shop with McNally Jackson Books owner Sarah McNally. It's located in one of Nolita's narrow storefronts that retains its romantic tenement feel, complete with wood-beamed ceiling and deep cast-iron sink by the register. Reading is not the focus here, but perusing its fully accessorized desks, stitched notebooks, tapered steel scissors, and wood-capped erasers is every bit as enthralling as getting lost in a great book.

Above: "We wanted a shop where everything would be useful and beautiful," says Salter who researched and traveled to workshops the world over. Her choice for the ideal desk light? The classic French Jielde SI333 (which we also happen to love), handmade in Lyons and available in several colors; $550. (Read more about the lamp here.) It's shown on the Country Desk One by UK furniture and ceramics studio Another Country; $1,870.

Above R: A desk vignette with palest pink deckled edge paper card by Arpa of Spain. Above L: Perfect for a small desk, the body-hugging Discipline Pocket Chair is made of soft leather stretched over a wood frame.

Above L: Plants, including epiphytes, are a crucial ingredient of the McNally Jackson study. Above R: Kraft paper envelopes from Japanese company Midori.

Above: Round sticky notes and notebooks with stitched bindings, both by Danish company Hay, are arranged alongside Japanese Craft Design Stainless Steel Scissors, $64, made to the same exacting standards as samurai swords.